President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the stage after speaking about the nuclear deal with Iran on Aug. 5, 2015, at American University in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(Newser)
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Earlier this morning, President Obama was "on the brink" of wrapping up the Iran nuclear deal after Democratic Sens. Bob Casey and Chris Coons threw their support his way, the Wall Street Journal reports. Now Maryland's Barbara Mikulski has given her thumbs-up, giving the president the magic number of 34 senators he needs to block a Senate override of his expected veto if the GOP tries to push through a resolution disapproving of the deal next week. "No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime," Mikulski said in a statement, per Roll Call. "[But] I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb. ... However, Congress must also reaffirm our commitment to the safety and security of Israel."

Two Democrats in the Senate have sided with their GOP counterparts against the deal, while 10 haven't said where they stand yet, Bloomberg notes. To filibuster the Republican resolution and keep a veto completely out of the picture, a total of 41 senators is needed, and now supporters of Obama's Iran deal are optimistic they can reach that number, too, the New York Times reports. Coons said yesterday it would be "a very close call" to acquire those 41 votes, adding that conversations he's had with all of the undecideds gave him no clear picture on whether they'd vote yea or nay, per Bloomberg.

Way to go Barb...in the near future when our country is up in flames and we are dying from radiation we can all sing " Some people claim that there's a woman to blame and we know...it was the democrats fault".

greenlantern1

Sep 3, 2015 8:26 AM CDT

President Reagan, not President Obama, ordered Oliver North to sell arms to Ayatollah Khomeini!! Treason?

Jerman

Sep 3, 2015 6:19 AM CDT

We did the deal with Iran to avoid going to war by bombing their nuclear enrichment facilities. America will never go to war again as we are opposed to casualties. Guerilla war, aided by technology, is the way of the future. Let drones do the fighting, not humans. America will continue to have attacks against us as we are vulnerable in so many ways and attempts at prevention of these attacks will drain us economically. One can easily burn our forests and contaminate our crops and anarchy will continue to grow as we continue to diversity our culture toward something other than American.